Track and share your dog walks with Walkies

** Warning. This was typed early in the morning after 3 hours sleep. Apologies in advance. This ain’t the Daily Telegraph.

I started this website from scratch some 13 years ago now. All I had was a copy of Microsoft Frontpage and 16 million pounds. It’s been a hard slog, but now I can report breaking hard-hitting stories like this. An app that lets dog-walkers track their exercise.

No. Don’t got use one of those pre-existing activity trackers out there (Endomondo or Strava etc), get this one instead. It’s designed for doggers dog lovers. Made by Direct Line to promote their Pet Insurance products, this will tell all and sundry via social media about your dog-walking activities and your usual routes. Great for those lurking in the shadows perhaps. Let’s hope they’ve put some security on this because showing this map to everyone and effectively letting them know where you live is a bit risky…

Anyhoo… The app will record calories, speed, the breed of your dog, how far you’ve walked and where. It’s only available for iOS, so grab it from iTunes.

Right. Coffee. Stuff about app below including something about how dog walkers like to vary their walks because they think their dog will get bored or some such can be found below….

· GPS-enabled app will allow dog owners to record and share their favourite walking routes via social media as well as monitor calories burnt and average speeds

· 41 per cent of dog owners change walking routes regularly because they are worried about dog boredom

· 58 per cent of dog owners would use a smartphone app to help them discover new routes and track their walks

Direct Line Pet Insurance today announced the launch of its new Walkies1 app on the Apple App Store. The GPS-enabled app has been created especially for dog owners, enabling them to record and share their favourite walking routes online and via social media channels.

New research conducted by Direct Line2 reveals that one in five (20 per cent) dog owners have a limited number of routes where they walk their dog and one in seven (13 per cent) would like to learn more about local routes for dog walkers. Of those that change their walking routes regularly, 41 per cent do so because they believe their dog gets bored and 38 per cent do so because they personally like the variety.

With the Walkies app, owners can add any number of dogs to a ‘pack’, with the option to record each dog’s walks separately as well as group walks. Once recorded, users can post maps of their walks to Facebook and Twitter, or share PDF reports of their ‘Top Walks’ via email and print. The app also features a list of Top Walks from across the UK, providing users with a near limitless bank of routes to choose from.

The research further revealed that more than half (58 per cent) of dog owners would use a smartphone app to help them discover new walks or to monitor / track their walks.

Whilst out walking, the Walkies app’s in-built GPS functionality automatically calculates the distance travelled, calories burnt and average and top speed for each pet. Other features include a handy stats screen to keep track of each pack member’s progress, and a ‘Dog Breeds’ tab, containing information on the most popular breeds in the UK, with details about their dietary and exercise requirements.

The Walkies app is available for free on the Apple App Store for all iOS 8-enabled iPhone and iPod touch devices. To download, please visit: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/walkies/id959089959?mt=53.